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Church Name

Church Name Changed

David was appalled that Joseph would disobey the mandate of the Book of Mormon and remove the name of "Christ" from the name of the church:

When Christ established his church upon this land, in the days of the Nephites, he gave them special instructions from his own lips concerning the name by which his church must be called. He gave them a strict commandment to call the church by his name, which he said was Christ. (David Whitmer, An Address to all Believers in Christ, p. 73)

In June, 1829, the Lord gave us the name by which we must call the church, being the same as he gave the Nephites. We obeyed his commandment, and called it “THE CHURCH OF CHRIST” until 1834, when, through the influence of Sidney Rigdon, the name of the church was changed to "The Church of the Latter Day Saints," dropping out the name of Christ entirely. (Ibid.)

David was right, it was instigated by Sidney Rigdon:

Motion was made by SIDNEY RIGDON, and seconded by Newel K. Whitney, that this church be known hereafter by the name of THE CHURCH OF THE LATTER DAY SAINTS. (The Evening and the Morning Star, Vol. II, May 1834, No. 20, p. 160)